New research finds specific blood markers in some children with autism

New research finds specific blood markers in some children with autism

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Updated: 5:04 PM EDT Sep 6, 2018

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WEBVTT EMILY: 5 ON YOUR HEALTH. RIGHT NOW, WE DON’T KNOW WHAT CAUSES AUTISM, BUT NEW RESEARCH FINDS SOME KIDS DIAGNOSED WITH THE DISORDER SHARE THE SAM BLOOD CHARACTERISTICS, AND THAT COULD BE A BIG CLUE. RESEARCHERS STUDIED BLOOD SAMPLES FROM 1100 CHILDREN ACROSS THE COUNTRY. AND THEY FOUND BLOOD PROTEINS ARE DIFFERENT IN ONE GROUP O AUTISTIC CHILDREN. SO I SPOKE WITH DR. ANN NEUMEYER, A CHILD NEUROLOGIST AT MASS GENERAL. SHE RAN ONE OF THE STUDY SITES , AND I ASKED WHAT THE TAKEAWAY IS FOR PARENTS. >> WE HA NOW A WAY TO PARSE OUT SOME OF THE GROUPS OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM AND UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THEIR BLOOD SIGNATURE, WHICH MAY HELP US IN THE FUTUR TO HELP WITH DIAGNOSIS. EMILY: SHE’S TALKING ABOUT SOME DAY HAVING A BLOOD TEST FOR AUTISM. IT IS

What causes autism is still unknown, but new research finds some kids diagnosed with the disorder share the same blood characteristics. The finding could be a significant clue towards the development of a blood test for the disorder. Researchers at the University of California - Davis MIND Institute and scientists from NeuroPoint DX, a division of Stemina Biomarker Discovery, Inc., studied blood samples from 1,100 children across the country.They found blood proteins are different in one group of autistic children. Dr. Ann Neumeyer, a child neurologist and medical director of the Lurie Center for Autism at Massachusetts General Hospital ran one of the study sites and said the finding is exciting. She ran one of the study sites and I asked what the takeaway is for parents."I think the takeaway is there's some children with autism that we have now a way to parse out, some of the groups of children with autism, and understand a little bit more about their blood signature, which may help us in the future to help with diagnosis," Neumeyer said. She believes this finding could one day lead to the development of a blood test for autism.

What causes autism is still unknown, but new research finds some kids diagnosed with the disorder share the same blood characteristics. The finding could be a significant clue towards the development of a blood test for the disorder.

Researchers at the University of California - Davis MIND Institute and scientists from NeuroPoint DX, a division of Stemina Biomarker Discovery, Inc., studied blood samples from 1,100 children across the country.

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They found blood proteins are different in one group of autistic children. Dr. Ann Neumeyer, a child neurologist and medical director of the Lurie Center for Autism at Massachusetts General Hospital ran one of the study sites and said the finding is exciting. She ran one of the study sites and I asked what the takeaway is for parents.

"I think the takeaway is there's some children with autism that we have now a way to parse out, some of the groups of children with autism, and understand a little bit more about their blood signature, which may help us in the future to help with diagnosis," Neumeyer said.

She believes this finding could one day lead to the development of a blood test for autism.